31 January 2015

Web Finds - 31 January 2015

I hope your week has gone well.

So now it is time to enjoy a small collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. A Look Inside my Planner - Decision Inspired
  2. Weight Loss Record [printable] - Planner Fun
  3. My 2015 Planner Setup - DiYFish
  4. A John Lewis Filofax Adventure! - The Kentish Kitchen
  5. Blood Pressure Record [printable] - Planner Fun
  6. Why your planner isn't working for you - Plannerisms
  7. A Better Way to Bullet Journal - Giftie Etcetera
  8. You Can Plan Too Much - Homemakers Daily
  9. ALGUÉM TRADUZ ISSO PRA MIM... - Filofax da Depré
  10. 28 Ways to Love Yourself {Free Printable} - Strange & Charmed
  11. Another Dashboard - Stationery Starlet
  12. #FilofaxFriday: A to Z Challenge Insert - Planning with Printed Portal
  13. First month evaluation - Quo Vadis Blog
  14. Filofax Friday - 013015 - Avo's Life
  15. “Planner craze” last week equals “Happy mail week”! - Random Pastimes of a Restless Mind
  16. Everyday Utensils - Bine Button
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Reader Under The Spotlight - Jane
  2. Filofax UK 2010-11 Catalogue
  3. Free For All Tuesday No. 208
  4. Web Finds - 27 January 2015
  5. Van der Spek - April 2015  - Don't forget to apply for a place if you want to come along
  6. Changing Your Set Up?
  7. Free For All Friday No 324 by Laurie
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Filofax Decoration Week #6 - Palestblue
  2. Get It all Done with Planner Routines - Annie Smith 
  3. Butterfly Personal Filofax Review - Candy Mint Apple
  4. My New Personal Malden (Filofax) - FiloFaxy Girl
  5. Filofax Ochre Malden - quick setup - Itskels
  6. 2015 FILOFAX DIVIDERS - LoveofStationery
  7. My Filofax Saffiano Set Up for January 2015 - Michele Fawcett
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
Enjoy

30 January 2015

Free For All Friday No 324 by Laurie

This month I did something that I've probably criticized others for in the past: I bought a Filofax and turned right around and re-sold it.

It was a crimson Malden. I've been on the lookout for one ever since, well, since they were discontinued to be honest. I'd seen photos of them online and thought, wow that just looks so nice. So when I found out Anita was selling hers, I jumped at the chance to buy it.

I didn't think the Malden was going to change my life in any way. It would be a nice addition to my collection. But when I got it in my hands, I had to admit it wasn't what I expected to be. It didn't blow my socks off. To be honest I preferred my chili Cuban, and didn't see me ever actually using the Malden. So I sold it on to someone who I hope will give it the love it deserves.

Have you ever bought a Filofax, then when you had it in your hands it just wasn't what you'd hoped it would be? What did you do?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything ring-binder related!

29 January 2015

Changing Your Set Up?

As we approach the end of the first month of the new year, I'm sure a lot of you are either using the same set up that you did last year.... why change something that works. 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' as the famous saying goes....

I'm sure there are quite a few readers that have tried out a variation on last years set up or a completely new set up compared to last year.

My own set up is largely unchanged, but I'm always looking to improve it, a small tweak here or there to improve various aspects of it.

It goes without saying that there is no universal set up that will work for everyone. We all lead different lives and we all put different demands on our organisers on a daily basis. What suits one person will not suit some one else.

So I'm not going to attempt convince you to go big rings or go small rings, or A5, Personal or Pocket. There are so many variations to this common problem.....

So if your set up is working well... leave it... don't change it just on a whim.  But in the case of someone who is new to paper planning or their circumstances have changed and whilst you thought it was the perfect set up it might not be working quite as you expected.

By all means change your set up in what ever way you need to to make it work..... but a word of caution.... don't make too many changes at once.

Only change one thing at a time and give it may be two weeks before you decide if that change (what ever it was) is going to make your organiser work for you.

By making your changes one step at a time you will understand the problems better and the set up will stand the test of time unless your circumstances change of course.....

28 January 2015

Van der Spek - April 2015

You might remember this picture from our visit to see Petra Van der Spek and the family in October last year.

But there is something missing from the picture.........

The eight other people we would like to join us again at the Van der Spek workshop in Puttershoek on Saturday 25th April 2015.


Before you start reaching for your credit cards and a suitcase, please read all of this post.

Firstly, places are limited to just 8 people, unfortunately due to the size of the workshop, this is why we have had to limit the numbers for this first 'group visit'. Hopefully there will be future meet ups, so if you miss out on this one there will be a chance again in future.

We will open the mailbox for you to apply for a place on the meet up on Saturday 31st January, this is so you have some time between reading this and Saturday to check your diary, check the costs of travel and timings etc. There are full details about how to apply for a place at the end of this post.

So here is the outline of the visit and details of what we aim to offer.

People travelling some distance (like Janet and I) will be arriving in Rotterdam on Friday afternoon 24th April. Petra has negotiated a conference rate at the Tulip Inn Hotel in Rotterdam for attendees.

However, you will be responsible for paying for your room which includes the cost of breakfast, but you will get the reduced rate,  details will be included in the confirmation email you will receive if you are allocated a place.

On the Friday evening for those people that arrived that day, we will meet up at the hotel and eat out in Rotterdam, possibly at Vapianos in Rotterdam. If that name sounds familiar, yes it is the same chain of restaurants as the ones we visit in London for the Philofaxy meet ups. The food is good and reasonably priced and you order using a simple smart card system and pay for just what you ordered.

On Saturday morning following breakfast at the hotel we will travel together by public transport to Puttershoek aiming to get to the workshop by 10:30am.

During our visit there we hope to do the following:
  • A factory ‘tour’/presentation of models, history of the company. 
  • Stopping for lunch may be at about 12:30-13:00 for say 45 minutes allowing people plenty of time to ‘mingle’ and chat with the others.  
  • There will be a display of items that are for sale on the day from your many items of stock
  • A display of BagUsBags too
  • Ring swapping demo by Steve! 
  • Diary creation demo by Steve - Amendment and then mail merging the Steve Morton/Ray Blake diary inserts
  • There will be a brain storming session looking at design ideas and any other feedback items on the Van der Spek website/customer service areas etc etc.
  • Design your own organiser on the day, with the chance to see the leather that will be used etc. 
  • Future organiser designs with thoughts and feedback from the group to Petra.  
  • Question and Answer Session.
If you are staying on in the hotel on the Saturday evening, we will once again go out as a group to eat, including the Van der Spek family.

On the Sunday depending on our individual departure times there might be a possibility to look around the city before we travel home again.

To be clear, each attendee will be responsible for the cost of their travel to Rotterdam and hotel costs, evening meals etc. However a buffet lunch will be provided on the Saturday at the workshop.

To book a place at the meet up please email Steve: steve@philofaxy.com after 9am (Paris time) on Saturday 31st January. With the subject of your email 'Van der Spek'

Steve will confirm you have a place within an hour of sending your email. The confirmation will contain further details about timings and booking the hotel etc. Once all places are allocated a reserve list will also be created in case there are any people that have to pull out of the meet up after being allocated a place.

If you have any questions about the meet up please contact Steve at the above email address and he will respond as quickly as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you.

27 January 2015

Web Finds - 27 January 2015

I hope you have had a good weekend.

Now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. 2015 Planner – Personal Filofax Finsbury - In Love With Journals
  2. How to: Use a Meetings Notebook to GTD - Planning with Printed Portal
  3. New Template for the VDS Manager - It's Bluetiger
  4. Exotic binders in jewel colours - This Bug's Life
  5. How to use the Meeting Notebook with a bullet journal system  - Planning with Printed Portal
  6. Life Mapping in my VDS - This Bug's Life 
  7. 7 Tricks to Remembering Everything - Giftie Etcetera
  8. New! Filofax Personal Size Insert [Wo2p] - My Last Eureka
  9. Where's Your Planner? - Susan Williams-Göbber
  10. Time management Monday: Working from home - Quo Vadis Blog
  11. Dividers - Love All Planners
  12. Second Blogiversary big giveaway - Win a Filofax!  - She's Eclectic
  13. Setting up a blog planner: first draft (filofax holborn) - The Paradox of An Organised Scientist
  14. Make it Monday // DIY Printable Planner Sticky Notes - Five Sixteenths Blog
  15. Blink and you'll miss it...my Pocket Finsbury - The Kentish Kitchen
  16. Weekly Planner Spread: Is There Too Much Weekend? - Giftie Etcetera
  17. Franklin Covey Fattie - GillB
  18. Kikki.k Large Leather Personal Planner in PINK - Ma Passiontea 
  19. Planner peace - Seaweed Kisses
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Planning on the Go: How to utilize your planner when out and about. - Annie Smith
  2. Franklin Covey Compact Easy Plan Set Up! - Sparkle Frogs
  3. Filofax FAQ | Everything You Want to Know about me and My Planners! - Alexis
  4. Kikki K Gold Time Planner Comparison and Review (Personal vs Time Planner) - SamLuvely
  5. Filofax Original Collection in Personal Size - Stamping Songbird
  6. 2015 A5 Filofax Setup // Blogging & YouTube Planner - The Desk of Adam
  7. {Filofax} Four Ring Pocket Filo Setup - DarkLittlePeople
  8. Gigliodoro Gold Pocket Compagna In Depth Set Up with DIY Fish inserts - Alancynvideo
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

My Week Posts
  1. My week #145 - Paper Lovestory
  2. Last weeks Decorated Planner Pages - Mrs Brimbles
  3. This week at The Book Hut - Maudie Made
  4. My week #3 - She's Eclectic
  5. My Week 4/52 - twenty5seven
  6. Week Five - Stationery Starlet
  7. This weeks pages - Frosty!  - Mrs Brimbles
  8. Filofax Friday: Week 4 & 5! - What My Mama Gave Me
  9. Week planner 88# - Lucy Wonderland
  10. Planner Pages – Week 5 - Planner Bug
  11. My Week 4/52 - twent5seven
  12. My Week #4 (2015) Joanny White
  13. My weeks 94-99 - Sabina
Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 208

26 January 2015

Filofax UK 2010-11 Catalogue

Today we go back a few years to the UK catalogue of 2010-11, it was the first Filofax catalogue I had seen since the 1980's... they had changed quite a bit!

The content of this post is the intellectual property of Filofax Group Ltd. The scans are reproduced here with the full permission of Filofax Group Ltd.



25 January 2015

Reader Under The Spotlight - Jane

Today I would like to introduce you to Jane.

Hi, I’m Jane and I live in Gloucestershire with my husband, Stuart, two of my three grown-up children, my boxer Gaby and two cats William and Millie.

By day I am an Administrator with the local authority for a service working with early years children with special educational needs and [or] disabilities.  By night I am a planner and stationery addict.

I have had a love of all things paper and stationery since an early age.  I remember being so disappointed at being given a toy till that I wrote letters above the keys as I really wanted a typewriter; also the best thing about a new school year was new exercise books for EVERY subject!

1. When did you buy your first organiser and what was it?

My first organizer was a Microfile.  I purchased this over twenty years ago; it was an A5 zipped style in green canvas with tan leather effect trim.  I used this for a while but didn’t really bond with its looks and so eventually bought a Filofax A5 Lyndhurst in black leather which was also a zipped style.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I currently use a mixture of Filofax, Gillio and Van Der Spek organizers.  Before discovering Gillio and Van Der Spek I thought about trying Franklin Covey, but despite deliberating over the catalogue I was never genuinely tempted.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

Sorry, I am going to have to choose two!  My personal size Gillio Mia Cara and my Van Der Spek A5 custom.  They are very different from each other and I also use them very differently.

4. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

I see, confession time is it?  I have nine Filofax, two Gillio and one Van Der Spek.  I do also have various Maldens that I have put to one side to sell so am no longer classing these as mine – can I get away with that excuse?

5. What is the oldest organiser in your collection?

That would be the A5 Lyndhurst I mentioned earlier.

6. What do you use your organisers for?

My Gillio Mia Cara is my everyday planner – calendar, reminders, notes, shopping lists, tasks – my brain dumping place basically.  My Van Der Spek A5 is what I call my “ME” planner; I’m trying to be more healthy so use this to record diet and lifestyle stuff, there’s a bit of journaling in there although not everyday.  I have also recently started keeping a record of my dreams so that’s included too.  I also have sections for learning the piano and Italian.  I also use a Gillio pocket Compagna as a wallet, it’s actually one of the older Giliodoro styles. Finally, I use a trio of Apex at work – personal, A5 and A4 folio.

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

With all the planners I use it has to be the flexibility of the ring system.  Moving sections around, removing or adding as needed is so useful.  Also, being a bit of a perfectionist, the ability to tear out a page when a mistake occurs!

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

My perfect planner would be A5 with generous rings, beautiful leather which smells wonderful which is soft to handle but tough enough for life’s little knocks too.  It would have just the right layout inside without the numerous card slots some planners seem to have.  It would be neutral in colour on the outside concealing a beautiful array of colour on the inside – wait a minute, I’ve just described my custom Van Der Spek!

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

My A5 stays at home so is only carried around by hand.  The two Gillios just go inside whatever bag I am using at the time; other than keeping keys and liquids away from them I am not too precious – they are meant to be used.

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

To be honest I am a little disappointed with the Filofax range of late.  I do have plans for another custom A5 Van Der Spek later this year but for now I have planner peace with those I am currently using.

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax or other brand of organiser? Which model?

It is my Gillio Mia Cara.  My lips are sealed as to how much it cost, but it was preloved and I bought it from someone in the States so not only was it an expensive purchase I had customs charges to pay as well.

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?

I think the best tip I could offer would be to live with something for a while before deciding it’s not right for you.

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

The wealth of information is amazing, whether you need to find the answer to a planner question or are just browsing it is so interesting.  The community of people I have grown to know – who don’t look at me as though I have two heads because I still use a paper planner.

But I think the one thing about Philofaxy that I would be lost without has to be the inserts.  I have to say a major “thank you” to both Steve Morton and Ray Blake for the exceptional collection of inserts.  I have tweaked the source documents provided and now have unique and perfect inserts.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

The easiest question to answer – nothing!

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

It was so long ago I cannot remember!  I use Spotify to create playlists so don’t tend to download anymore.

16. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day?

Yes, I’ve been to a Philofaxy meet-up in London and also the Gillio “Think Tank” event that took place last year.  Looking forward to hopefully attending more this year too.

17. What was the last movie you watched?

As I am currently suffering with the ‘flu and a chest infection I have become a bit of a couch potato so I’m afraid it was a chick-flick – “New Year’s Eve”.

18. What was the last book you read?

I am currently reading Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying”; a book that I expect will be familiar to a lot of Philofaxy readers.

19. George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

Definitely George Clooney – so long as he brings coffee!

Thank you Jane. As you know we are constantly looking for new people to appear in our 'Reader Under Spotlight feature, you don't have to be 'well known' or a long term user to be considered to appear in this 'spot'. So please contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com today. Thank you.

24 January 2015

Web Finds - 24 January 2015

I hope your week has gone well.

So now it is time to enjoy a small collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. Update on Undyed Van Der Spek Binder – the 2½ month mark - This Bug's Life
  2. How to Keep Work and Personal in the Same Planner - Homemakers Daily
  3. Kikki-K 2015 Medium Time Planner in Mint - The Well Appointed Desk
  4. Things my planner has taught me - Stationery Starlet
  5. Filofax A5 Tan Belmont - This Bug's Life
  6. Changes to my diary - inserts - Sabina
  7. Filofax Setup 2015 / philofaxy - Analog 2.0
  8. Van Der Spek Pink Ostrich/Purple Nappa personal with 30mm rings - This Bug's Life
  9. The Case for the Unstuffed Planner - Giftie Etcetera
  10. 2014 planning and archiving (part 2) - Random Pastimes of a Restless Mind
  11. #Filofax Friday: Daily Habit Tracker - Planning with Printed Portal
  12. Filofax: Current Set-up - Life of Kitty
  13. Webster’s Pages Color Crush Planner - Stationery By Default
  14. Filofax – The Affair - Kel & Filofax
  15. Planner Productivity: Tales from the Coffee Shop - Giftie Etcetera
  16. Planner Friday - January - She's Eclectic
  17. Gastbeitrag zum Thema Filofax: Analogien  - Analog 2.0
  18. Planner Printable // Free Blog Planner - Five Sixteenths blog
  19. Week on Two Pages with Agenda [printable] - Planner Fun
  20. Overview of Filofax Malden Personal Organiser in Purple - Planner Bug
  21. Free Filo Friday- Happy Mail? Yes, please. - Embellish Everything
  22. Set up / How I am using my Paperchase Dreamscape Planner - Mrs Brimbles
  23. Creative DIY Quickie : Using map inserts from filofax to create dividers - The Paradox of the Organised Scientist
  24. Kalendereinlagen 2015: Valentine (W2P, deutsch) - Haushalts-Survival
  25. Update: New Filofax? New Inserts? Posting Schedule? - The Filofax Lifestyle
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Reader Under The Spotlight - Sarah
  2. Filofax Germany 2005-2006 Catalogue
  3. Free For All Tuesday No. 207
  4. Web Finds - 20 January 2015
  5. Creating A6 Inserts
  6. Printing A6 Inserts/Pages
  7. Free For All Friday No. 323 by Anita
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Franklin Covey | System | Series #1 - MissVickyBee
  2. 2015 Personal Filofax Setup - The Desk of Adam
  3. 2015 Finsbury Personal Filofax setup and 2 Planner Feb announcement! - MadeWithLoveCrafter
  4. 2015 Kikki K Planner Unboxing - Samluvely
  5. 2015 A5 Filofax Setup // Blogging & YouTube Planner - The Desk of Adam
  6. Filofax Kendal Personal - MerjasWorld
  7. Planners setup 2015 ITA - D Mylasteureka
  8. Planner Set Up - Annie Smith
  9. my filofax setup 2015 jan - Dinosaur Roses
  10. Personal Planner!Gillio Mia Cara & Compagna Comparison & Review! - Lifegoeson
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
Enjoy

23 January 2015

Free For All Friday No. 323 by Anita

I am feeling an overwhelming urge to simplify things in my life right now. Unsurprisingly, my Filofaxes have come into the spotlight and I am considering downsizing to using and owning one personal size binder again. Thinking back, I think that I have been at my most content and productive with a sole filo. I recently read about the Power of 1 on Time Management Ninja and it just struck such a chord with me. As I'm sure you can understand, this means that my Filofax will need to tick all the boxes for my needs like layout, colour and design. I am glad to say that I have just received a new binder that I feel meets everything (more details in another post), so I am looking forward to finding new homes for the rest.

Have you decided to change the size of your collection recently? (either up or down)

And as it's Friday, please feel free to discuss anything ring-binder related. Have a great weekend.

22 January 2015

Printing A6 Inserts/Pages

Printing of any inserts or pages often causes lots of people problems, wasted paper, increased stress levels, the list goes on. But with a bit of thinking and a bit of practice it is actually quite straight forward.

Today's post is really about printing A6 inserts, but it would equally apply to A5 ones as well... remember the proportion rules...

A6 paper is 148mm by 105mm (5.827 x 4.134 inches) I think it's easier to measure accurately in mm!

How you approach printing your inserts will naturally depend on what printer you have and what paper feed arrangements it has. Not all printers can handle paper as small as A6. That said I was surprised to discover that our HP Laserjet printer can print from the paper tray not just the manual paper insert tray.

So I thought I would give it a try. The first issue I encountered and not surprising really is that the duplex feeder can not double side paper smaller than A4/Letter size, so I had to opt to print single sided and print Odd pages (Page 1,3,5 7 etc) first, reinsert the paper and then print the Even pages (2, 4, 6 etc)

OK let's step back for a second. Open the paper tray on your printer if it has one and what do you see?


So the paper is held in place by moveable 'side cheeks' and a moveable 'end stop' They normally have markers as to where to move them to.


So with the A4 paper removed I first of all wanted to print some A5 pages to show you. So I moved the side cheeks in and the end stop to the A5 location and then printed off the pages. First one side then the other. Which way the paper feeds will depend on the printer. In my case the 'head' or top of the page is at the front of the paper tray or the bottom of the picture in this case and the side to be printed is face down in the tray. So the paper does an S shape through the printer to then come out face down in the output tray.


21 January 2015

Creating A6 Inserts

I have been seeing an increasing number of people using A6 size organisers. Why A6, well as you saw from Alan Marshall's excellent tutorial on paper sizes A6 is in the same proportions to A5 and A4 paper.

A6 size paper is 105mm by 148 mm which is half the size of A5 paper (148x210 mm) or a quarter of A4 paper (210x297 mm). This is obviously very convenient from a design point of view and printing too.

I will be covering how to print A6 inserts in another post, it is even easier to do that printing Filofax personal size.

So who makes A6 size organisers? Not an exhaustive list, but these are the ones I'm aware of:
Van der Spek Senior and Mulberry Agenda.
Thank you to Yvonne for the photo.
Most of the recent ones I have seen have been Van der Spek Senior size, these will soon be available with 25 mm rings so quite an attractive option and a reasonable price compared to the limited range from Mulberry.  Filofax have never as far as I know made an A6 size organiser.

All of these organisers use a common ring spacing employing 6 rings spaced at:

19 <> 19 <> 38 <> 19 <> 19 mm

And if you are creating your own inserts, the good news is the Rapseco 6 hole punch has intermediate setting that matches this configuration between 'Pocket' and 'Personal'' The KW-Trio A5 punch and variants also have this '38 mm centre spacing' setting too.

If you are creating your own inserts you can of course design them in A6 size. Personally I tend to design in A4 size and then scale them down at printing time. All the printed fonts all be reduced in size so it is easier to work at A4 size because that is most probably the size you are used to working in.

The inserts that Ray and I make available are designed in A4 size and they will scale down to A6 easily. So there are no shortage of dairy inserts available for the A6 size. I will show you tomorrow how to easily print A6 size inserts on your own printer.

Have you ever considered using an A6 size organiser instead of Personal size?

20 January 2015

Web Finds - 20 January 2015

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. Brown Personal Filofax Kensington - This Bug's Life
  2. Slimline Regency Filofax - It's Bluetiger
  3. Kikki K A5 Cloud Stockholm Planner Review - Letters in November
  4. The Van der Spek planner - Maja Huse
  5. Filofax Kensington Collection - This Bug's Life
  6. Looking back; looking forwards - Paper Pens Ink
  7. AFINAL O QUE E CHRONODEX? - Filofax da Deprê
  8. Announcement: Only printable items available in January! - Filofax Love
  9. My favorite binders  - This Bug's Life
  10. Another The Bridge planner - Loveallplanners
  11. Flexin’ - Adventures in Trying to Organise my Life
  12. Cleaning Routine: Schedule & Planning - Well Planned Life
  13. Stationery and Journals at The Book Hut - Maudie Made
  14. 2015 Planner Setup - Franklin Covey Classic + Paper Plum Designs Planner - My Great Challenge
  15. On Dealing with Planner Fatigue - The Journal Keeper
  16. Hankering for a planner - The Kentish Kitchen
  17. Time management Monday: Padding your schedule - Quo Vadis 
  18. New Year's Giveaway || A Shiny New Filofax To Keep You Organised! - Sophie Jane
  19. Decorating as you go...my thoughts... - Mrs Brimbles
  20. 7 Money Saving Ways to Use a Planner - Giftie Etcetera
  21. Filofax Focus - Steve Morton
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. How to Make Filofax Dividers {3 Ways} - Alexis
  2. Why I use a compact Pennybridge - MaryAnneMoll
  3. Filofax Friday Video 2 - Stampingsongbird
  4. Filofax Flex Slim & DIY Fish - D Mylasteureka
  5. Filofax Kendal Personal - Merjasworld
  6. Collections Video 2015 (Filofax/Kate Spade/etc.) - Lola Kawowski
  7. Filofax Personal Original Patent Fuchsia Standard - Robin Sparkles
  8. Decorating my Filofax: Week 4 - Paper & Planners
  9. Updated Filofax Routine - Nicky Goldsmith
  10. Filofax 4 Woche - Michelle1511
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

My Week Posts
  1. My week #2 - She's Eclectic
  2. My Week #3 (2015) - Joanny White
  3. Last Week's Vintage Layout - Letters in November
  4. My week #144 - Paper Lovestory
  5. My Week 3/52 - So Joey Creates
  6. Week Four - Stationery Starlet
  7. Planner Pages – Week 4 - Planner Bug
  8. Filofax Friday Week 3 - What My Mama Gave Me
  9. Week planner 87# - Lucy Wonderland
  10. My Filofax Week - Roses in December
Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 207

19 January 2015

Filofax Germany 2005-2006 Catalogue

This week we look at the Filofax Germany catalogue from 2005/6.

The content of this post is the intellectual property of Filofax Group Ltd. The scans are reproduced here with the full permission of Filofax Group Ltd.













18 January 2015

Reader Under The Spotlight - Sarah

Today I would like to introduce you to Sarah

I live in Peterborough with my husband and two children Summer 4 and Bubba 3, they both have their own planners Summer has a personal pink Apex and Bubba a blue Moleskin notepad. We gather on a Saturday morning and decorate our pages over breakfast.

I’m a Conference Receptionist and have a small paper craft business making Paper Flowers.

I have used a diary my whole working life and have always had a thing for pens, inherited from my dad who has a great collection.

My IG account with all my planner pics is http://instagram.com/filofabulouss

1.      When did you buy your first organiser and what was it?

I have always used diary’s and the year of my first bonus in 2008 I purchased a personal Siena in Cinnamon. I had been eyeing her up for a few months and she is still today something I look at with pride.

2.      What other brands have you used or considered using?

I have used Franklin Coveys, Kikki.k, Kate Spade, Erin Condren Life Planner, Day Timers and a few novelty planners such as Marvel Comics, Timberland and an Aristocats Disney planner. Im currently trying a travelers notebook style planner with DIYFish inserts for 2015.

3.      Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

My all-time favourite will always be my Siena closely followed by my Personal Vintage Pink Malden and Green Kate Spade Wellesley Zip.

4.      How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

I own 60 organisers all together.

5.      What is the oldest organiser in your collection?

My Siena although I am on the lookout for a Red Portland.

6.      What do you use your organisers for?

I use 3 on a daily basis. A personal for my daily diary, apps and family related tasks, an A5 for work and another A5 for my little paper craft business.

7.      What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

I like that you can personalize them and add to them, my dad always refers to the new laptop advert where one girl has a planner the other a laptop and he jokes I should ‘get with the times’ but I love the written form, I spend a lot of time watching setup videos and browsing IG and Pinterest admiring peoples layouts and it just makes me happy.

8.      If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

  • Bigger rings
  • The option to easily switch out rings between silver/gold/colour
  • A Divider with a pen loop – like in the flex so you could move it about.

9.      How do you carry your Filofax?

I throw it in my handbag – Every planner I use takes a good old battering, non are treated any different. If it can’t survive that I’m not interested.

10.  Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

The Originals – I have most of them and the last one I purchased was the Gold but she had bad rings and had to be returned, unfortunately they were out of stock so she was never replaced. She is on my Wish List.

11.  What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax or other brand of organiser? Which model?

My Siena was not cheap but I cannot remember how much I paid for her. Recently I spent £90 for an Aqua Personal Malden, a planner I had wanted for a fair while.

12.  What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?

Make it your own – I see many people saying I want mine set up like this persons or that persons but to be honest your planner has to work for you and you only. Also never forget the point of it, it’s to keep you organised as soon as it’s not doing that for you start again.

13.  Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I like that everytime I have a look through it I find a new article/blog or snippet of information. The detail that goes into Philofaxy is amazing. I can always find something new to read or browse.

14.  And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

Nothing that I can think of.

15.  What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

George Ezra’s new Album

16.  Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day?

No but I attended a planner meet up recently through a facebook group and we had great fun, it was only four of us and I now have made local planner friends to geek out with. I would love to attend a Philofaxy one.

17.  What was the last movie you watched?

War of The Worlds (Tom Cruise Version for the 100th time) I have a thing for apocalyptic films.

18.  What was the last book you read?

Lisey’s Story by Stephen King

19.  George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

Ryan Gosling J

Thank you Sarah. As you know we are always looking for new people to appear in our 'Reader Under Spotlight feature, please contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com

17 January 2015

Web Finds - 17 January 2015

I hope your week has gone well.

So now it is time to enjoy a small collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. Filofax Personal Classic MashUp - This Bug's Life
  2. For Your Fridge [printable] - Planner Fun
  3. Filofax Pages - Roses in December
  4. Pocket Full of…. - The Zeitgeist of Zoe
  5. Double books - This Bug's Life
  6. My Planning System for 2015 - Stationery by Default
  7. Planner Problems May Be a Symptom of Something Else - Homemakers Daily
  8. The High Cost of Multitasking - Inc
  9. Supplier Spotlight - ItsAMumsThing - Mrs Brimbles
  10. #Filofax Friday: The Coffee Meeting - Planning with Printed Portal
  11. 2014 planning and archiving (part 1) - Random Pastimes of a Restless Mind
  12. Energy - Filofax Art Journal
  13. Is one ever enough? - Stationery Starlet
  14. How To Choose a Planner - Planner Bug
  15. Random Notes For My Filofax - Roses in December
  16. Organisation | Websters Pages Colour Crush Planner - It's Me, Sarah
  17. 5 Useful Ways to Store a Planner - Giftie Etcetera
  18. Thinking of starting a blog? Blog Post & Video Planning & Scheduling - Mrs Brimbles
  19. 2015 Update - Leesh Smalls
  20. Filofax Friday - Weekly Decoration (throwback) - Avo's Life
  21. Filofax Makeover And 2015 Set Up - Joanny White
  22. Managing & Keeping Track of Your Time + Free Printable - MsWenduhh
  23. What should the icons be in the list boxes? - Quo Vadis Blog
  24. Video: Franklin Covey Compact Setup! - Sparkle Frogs
  25. Is Using a Paper Diary Retro or Does it Make Me a Luddite?  - HuffPost Tech
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Reader Under The Spotlight - Nicola
  2. Filofax Catalogue UK 2005-6
  3. Free For All Tuesday No. 207
  4. Web Finds - 13 January 2015
  5. Filofax Exotic - Personal
  6. Guest post: My Filofax A5 planner setup - Lisa
  7. Free For All Friday No. 322 by Steve
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Filofax Malden Compact Zip purple - Merjasworld
  2. Franklin Covey Compact Setup - Sparkle Frogs
  3. Decorating my Filofax: week 03 (2015) - FR - Mzelles World
  4. My pages for January and February 2015 - MaryAnneMoll
  5. 2015 Kikki k Leather Time Planner (Medium Size) Unboxing - Love4Creativity
  6. Webster's Pages Color Crush Planner in Dark Pink - One Fantastic Find
  7. How I Organise My Kikki.K Planner | 2015 - Otilia Adrien
  8. Filofax Flipthru - Claudia L
  9. Filofax | Osterley vs Amazona - Mamie Tsuda
  10. 2015 Update Filofax Personal Malden - Mimi Suh
  11. Filofax Daytimer Malibu in Cayenne Set Up!!! - Willow Muck 
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
Enjoy

16 January 2015

Free For All Friday No. 322 by Steve

So two weeks in to the New Year, what is working in your 'new' set up if you have changed and what isn't working?

Or if you kept the same set up, what do you think could work better may be?

However, it is Friday so feel free to throw in any topical comments for discussion.

Have a great weekend.


15 January 2015

Guest post: My Filofax A5 planner setup - Lisa



This post has been a looooooong time coming.

First up, I don’t know exactly how I got lost in my obsession for planners, and everything planner related.

However, I do know that it started in October when I was in Japan. I guess being overseas gives you time to think about things, and I was thinking about things I needed to do when I got home. This led to thinking about how to plan said things, which lead to thinking how I don’t like using my iPhone calendar anymore as I am sick of reminders constantly going off and I never do what they reminding me of.

I was at the point where I was ready to start planning my life properly. I was already in the process of moving away from using my iPhone calendar and going back to an old school paper and pen diary to plan my personal life and blog posts. However, it was heavy to carry around, and I still wasn’t using it properly.

So all this thinking led to research, which led to learning about how people plan, which led to the wide, wide world of Filofax love and decoration, which led to writing a post about planning to plan. So now it’s finally time to move forward from the planning to the actual doing.

After frantically looking for a planner in Japan to no avail, I ordered a Filofax A5 Calipso organiser in purple on Amazon.

After watching many YouTube videos, reading blog posts, and looking at Filofax communities, I’ve finally started to set my planner up.

Here’s how I’ve set it up

Planner pockets

My Filofax has six card sleeves and a pouch at the front, and a zipped pouch at the back.

The only section I use is the pouch at the front, which holds my calendar legend (shown in the image below and discussed in detail later) and bills. I don’t think I’ll use the other sections as I don’t want to add too much bulk to my planner.

Dashboard

This is the first thing you see when you open my planner.

It’s something that I saw a lot of when I was doing research on how to set my planner up.

I don’t intend on using any of the items on my dashboard, they’re basically there to pretty my planner up.


Categories

At this stage I have five categories or areas that I’ll be using my planner for. Each category is identified by decorative scrapbook paper, which I cut to size and have inserted into an A5 plastic sleeve.

Below are the categories that I have. I already have the feeling that some will be replaced with something else, which I’ll work out once I start using my planner properly.

  • Calendar
  • Blog
  • OLW
  • Lists
  • Expenses




Calendar

The inserts are from Kikki K and are a month to a page and a week to two pages.

I use the month page to plot out blog posts, and the weekly pages to show what’s happening each day.

I colour code each area that needs to be put on my weekly pages, the legend detailing the colours is stored in the pouch at the front of my planner, and can be seen on the image of the dashboard.

My area’s colour codes are:

  • Peach – blog
  • Blue – personal
  • Green – garden
  • Yellow – meals planned for dinner
  • Orange – grocery shopping
  • Birthday washi – birthdays
  • Purple – health and work

When I put something on my weekly pages I use washi tape in the corresponding colour instead of writing them in pen. As I’m always rescheduling things it’s much neater to move things around when they’re on washi tape, as opposed to crossing it out if they’re written in pen. There is the occasional thing that I may write in pen, but this doesn’t happen often.

Blog

I will use this section to write down any blog post ideas that I have, or to store any magazine inspiration that I find.

OLW

OLW stands for one little word, which is how I set goals for my year. If you’d like to learn more about this please click here.

This year my one little word is focus. I intend to use this section to write down my focus goals, and write down anything focus orientated that will keep me inspired.

I have already made an insert with my focus goals on it, which will always be in my current weekly page.  You can view this in the image below.

Lists

I’m crazy for lists, so this section will definitely stay.

At the moment I have the following lists:

  • Garden
  • House
  • To buy
  • Sunday
  • Day trips
  • Favourite restaurants
  • Restaurants to try

Each list has items on it that need doing. For example, some of the things on my garden list include plant herbs, work on shed path, and mulch side of house.

Eventually everything on each of list will be transferred to my weekly calendar and ticked off the list. New things will be added to each list as they come up.


Expenses

This year one of my one little word goals is to focus on being financially responsible. I’m hoping to track my expenses in this section to allow me to do this.

Decoration

A big part of the Filofax community is planner decoration, which is not only fun, but also keeps you motivated to actually use your planner.



I’m hoping to get better at this, and will be posting each month on what I have done for that month in terms of decoration. I’ll also show weekly photos of this on my Instagram account.

If you’d like to learn more about how to use a planner please visit my Filofax Planner Love Pinterest page

In the meantime, I’d love to hear how you plan out your days.

Thank you Lisa for your guest post, we really appreciate people sharing posts like this on Philofaxy. 

Be sure to visit Lisa's blog The Creative Canvass

14 January 2015

Filofax Exotic - Personal

Filofax recently released a limited edition in personal and compact size called the Exotic.  Philofaxy was very lucky to be sent a Personal size Exotic to review and giveaway by our friends at Appelboom in the Netherlands.

The Filofax description describes it as follows:
Vintage inspired and exquisitely hand finished, the Exotic Organiser is made from Italian crocodile print deluxe leather. This stylish Personal organiser features internal pockets, pen holders and an expandable full height pocket with leather closure.
So we will take a detailed look at this new model.

The organiser is wrapped in the now typical clear plastic wrapper, which of course is easily removed. The inserts are in cotton cream.


So without the wrapper you can see the detail of the crocodile print leather, which has a soft sheen to it.


The pattern continues around the spine where there is a straight seam and the traditional 'f' at the base of the spine.


The back cover has a similar pattern to the front.


Opening it up it doesn't quite lay flat out of the box, but it might soften up with age. The organiser is fitted with 23 mm internal diameter rings.


On the inside front cover we find the first of two pen loops these are leather elasticated ones. There are four vertical card slots as well as a full height slip pocket behind this section. You will notice the patterned leather is complemented by plain brown lambs leather on the interior.


On the inside back pocket there is an expanding flap covered pocket all in leather of course. And the second of the two pen loops, like the other it is in leather and it is elasticated.


Here we see a slightly different view of the interior of the Exotic. It is really good to see Filofax fitting two pen loops to a personal size organiser again. I hope we see this in other new models. I know a lot of people have asked for this additional pen loop.


Overall I think this might be a popular model. Filofax UK have this model priced at £125 for both the Personal and Compact models. Appleboom have them for €169 for both Personal and Compact


Here is a video of the personal size:



and another of the compact size which you will see is of a different design, but the same price.



On the Compact model, instead of a clasp it has a large flap and popper. There is an outside zipped pocket in the back cover. And an additional a full height pocket behind the flap pocket accessed from the outside edge. There is only a single elasticated pen loop on the compact model and in common with other compact models the ring size is reduced to 15 mm internal diameter.

Once again thank you to Joost Appelboom for supplying the review sample.

Would you like to own the Personal size Exotic shown in this post? You would.... leave a comment below this post and we will put the names in to a hat and make the draw on Friday 16th January.

The usual rules will apply... no cash alternative, the judges decision will be final, you must contact Steve within 48 hours of the announcement of the winner to receive this prize.

Thank you.

Competition now closed... The Winner has been decided... find out who it is tomorrow in Web Finds.